Análisisis post-Mundial (puntos altos y bajos)

Yo me quedo con Medel, Alexis, Bravo, Aránguiz y Mena. Yo esperaba mas goles de Vargas.

Me gustó lo que hicieron Pinilla y Gutiérrez en el último partido... Bueno, no el penal de Pinilla. Con Gutiérrez siempre me quedo con la impresión que puede mas... Sigo esperando mas peso en la cancha en un estilo tipo Ozil... Pero todavía no lo he visto.

Esta ha sido la eliminación que mas me ha dolido en un mundial, por lejos. Cuando nos hicieron el primer gol lo primero que pensé fue: no otra vez. Nunca grité un gol tanto como el empate de Alexis o el penal de Diaz.

Sigo tratando de entender porqué nos eliminaron. Y si Vidal hubiese estado al 100% que hubiese pasado? Escuchando la radio después del partido le preguntaron a Sampaoli si había ensayado los penales... La respuesta fue algo como que no esperabamos los penales... Tal vez un error grande. En todo caso, apoyo a Sampaoli, me gusta su futbol mas que el de Bielsa... Me parecen mas equilibrados sus equipos. Ninguno de los equipos grandes les ha pasado por encima.

Que nos falta? Encuentro que en este equipo hay pocos que le pegan bien a la pelota... Es cosa de comparar los laterales/volantes chilenos con los brasileños... Es cosa de ver a Boseajour, que tiene el flamante record de de haber hecho goles en dos mundiales. No le pegan bien... Nada de peligro en los tiros libres... Eso es algo que ofrecía Matías. Sampaoli le debería dar tarea a todo el equipo... Una hora al día chuteando al arco. Hace unos meses estaba mirando al Barcelona. Messi no estaba. Tiro libre. Lo va a tirar Alexis... Pero por que me pregunte... Hizo el medio gol. Nunca lo he visto hacer eso de nuevo. Michael Jordan se pasaba horas después del entrenamiento ensayando tiros... Hay que hacer lo mismo.

Todavía estoy enojado de como nos eliminaron, pero el futuro se ve brillante... Espero que las promesas, Angelo, Enzo, Bryan, Igor, Nicolás... Se cumplan... Y justo donde más hacen falta.

 

Ideally, Sampaoli should continue this process all way to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. By then, a lot of the promising young players of today should already be established and step in to reinforce a team in which our young guns (Alexis, Medel, Vidal and co.) should already be seasoned veterans. There should be no excuses either to not give a shot to the young players during this process as all of them will be responding to the NT's essential problems. In the defense, you have Igor, Valber, Andia and Pulgar nationally, and in the front line you have Nico Castillo and Angelo Henriquez that really seem to promise a great deal.

There are two elements that I will suggest to keep for a successful process: 1. this playing style should be kept and, if possible, developed further. The players really benefited from bearing Bielsa's seal for the 2010 WC, and Sampaoli's hand added more depth to it for this WC. So, as I already mentioned, either Sampaoli remains or someone of the same lines replaces him. 2. The courage, the "huevos" shown by players like Medel and Vidal are memorable! I'd encourage this attitude more, and I believe players like Angelo, Nico, Igor and Valber already proved to possess those traits. Does anyone remember how they gave it their all during the U-20 WC match against Ghana? (The goals scored by our dynamic duo that day were incredible!)

Chile is also a country that has quite a few descendants around the world, that also feel strongly attached to their roots. To be brief: "we want more Miiko Albornoz-like cases and less Ricardo Rodriguez-like incidents". I don't care if the coach believes he has all the players he needs, someone has to pressure him to test all players possible. Therefore, a keen eye should be placed on players like the goalies, Vigouroux and Salinas; the defender, Kevin Kemerbeek (yes, there is another up and coming option in the back line!); and the other Rodriguez brothers, for example!

Finally, I'll throw this one out and say that looking at Chile's geography, the weather in Russia should not be an excuse during the 2018 WC.

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As for Copa America, if Paiva (Pinilla's aggressor) still holds his post during Copa America, he should not be granted a visa to enter the country. The boy repulses me...

 

The positives:

• Getting out of one of the ‘groups of death.’
• Playing well and earning global admiration and respect by going ‘toe-to-toe’ with three of the true top ten teams (forget FIFA rankings) in consecutive games: Spain, the Netherlands and Brazil. In a sense, this was like ‘the corner of death.’ I can’t remember any team in recent or past world cups that had to face three world powers in 3 straight matches before the quarters. This seeding system used by FIFA for the draw was a joke (let’s be honest), and it meant that we wore out quicker and decreased our chances of going further.
• At the same time, the draw made us stronger. The team set a new standard by which all future senior teams will and should be judged.
• Historic win against Spain (it matches the win against Argentina a few years back). This is an indicator that times have changed.
• Good team performance against Brazil and unlucky in the final outcome.
• Expression of disappointment at early elimination: another indicator of progress.
• For me, Medel, Bravo, Alexis, Aránguiz and Jara were the top 5. Aránguiz deserves more credit for his work-rate and ability to play a key role considering the mammoth tasks of facing three elite teams and Vidal’s form. I’ve been critical of Jara in the past, but he never had a poor game. Considering the mentioned circumstances as well as the lack of height at the back, he was valiant and performed above his usual level and put together four of his best performances for the national team. The goal against Brazil was avoidable but, to be fair, we had no one at the back post. Stats for Jara: 22 recovered balls and 82.2% pass completion rate.
• Vidal was brave and pushed himself hard in two games, which were also Chile’s most impressive matches (vs. Spain and Brazil). Silva, Díaz, Vargas and Mena were erratic but competent and good in some absolutely key moments (e.g. Vargas’ goal vs. Spain and assist against Brazil). They round off my top 10. Silva did the job at the back and made up for the limitations. Stats for Silva: 20 recovered balls and 79.9% pass completion rate. Stats for Díaz: 19 recovered balls, 84.2% pass completion rate and total distance covered of 52212m, one of the highest of the world cup at the end of the second round. Regarding Díaz, I think that he suffered from the tactical approaches used by teams like the Netherlands and Brazil, which required the characteristics of a player like Medel as defensive midfielder rather than a deep playmaker (I think that someone already correctly mentioned this).
• The team had one of the highest passing completion rates in the competition by the end of the second round: 77%.
• The guts shown by every player present against Brazil, including the guys who came on (Pinilla, Gutiérrez and Rojas). Yes, Pinilla fluffed his spot-kick in the shoot-out, but I think that a factor that influenced that moment was when he hit the bar with seconds to spare (When teams or individuals feel like they’ve “missed their key chance(s),” the one or two opportunities that follow carry more weight and doubts can surface). He also cleared a ball when defending a set-piece and looked determined. Gutiérrez showed backbone against Brazil, something that he did not show in previous games.
• Chile’s fitness: one of the fittest teams of the tournament.
• The ability of the team to press and play on the counter-attack, which as a new combination that was not seen under Bielsa or Borghi. It became more important than prioritising a high-possession but ineffective approach. I thought that this was an impressive new aspect that was added to Chile’s game.
• Gary Medel: never had a bad game and had a couple of near-flawless performances. His herculean performance against Brazil will go down as one of the best ever by any player who ever wore the Chile shirt. Has anyone read the news articles on the guy following Chile’s exit? Nothing but admiration from experts, writers and fans from all over the world. Some stats: 36 recovered balls and 90.9% pass completion rate (at one point, the highest pass completion rate of the tournament).

The negatives:

• Lack of height in central defence. Having this doesn’t automatically guarantee better defending, but it could have marked a significant difference.
• Defending from crosses and set pieces. This one overlaps with the mentioned height issue, but we still could have avoided a couple of crucial goals (e.g. poor marking in the first goal conceded against the Dutch and no one covering the back post in Jara’s own goal against Brazil).
• A number of players brought plenty of work ethic and/or the correct mindset, but were not in good form, if that makes sense. Isla, Gutiérrez and Valdivia are the prime examples here.
• While he was one of our best players, Vidal was not in the type of form that is required in a world cup, and I think that he is as much to blame for that as anyone else in the equation.
• As some other members have noted, our shooting lacked more venom and precision. A fit Vidal could have made a difference here, but it was still something noticeable.
• The disclosure made by a couple in the team that penalty kicks had not been practiced. This one is hard to believe as they were good enough to ‘go the distance’ with anyone, which means the possibility of penalty shoot-outs.